to volcano crater... and beyond!!!

Dear Citizens of this beloved city,Due to the ongoing rotating brownouts implemented in the country, we regret to inform you that we are scheduling city-wide power interruption tomorrow from 8:00 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In order for everyone to cope up with the inconvenience of feeling the scorching heat during the scheduled brownout, may we suggest that you put on your best clothes and stay at the nearest mall for the duration of the power outage?

Instead of feeling uncomfortable and lapsing into hysteria while enduring the heat within your cramped dwelling, any mall within the vicinity of our beloved city will be sufficient enough to cool your heads down. You can enjoy yourselves within the air-conditioned enclosure that the mall can offer aside from the usual boutiques, food establishments, arcade games and watching that over-hyped teen vampire movie shown in the cinemas.

All jejemons must be in full jejemon gear including their jejecap.

All emos should be in full black gear including their creative eyebrow make-up.

All shopaholics must have at least two paper bags/plastic bags (equivalent to two separate purchases) of the things they desire most, for this particular day only.

All gorgeous ladies can wear their sexiest outfits so that the men can drool and look back afterwards.

All students are excused to skip their classes and waste their precious study time at the mall.

We strongly advise that you make the most of your time inside your favorite hangout place so as to forget that we have been screwing you with the horrible services we offer while deliberately trying the raise the amount that we are charging you.

It has been more than a century when our so-called heroes proclaimed our independence. A hundred years and we still cannot fathom the idea of full independence. Yes, we are an independent nation based on the conditions of self-governance and sovereignty but most of our policies - particularly the ones pertaining to our economy – are, at most, dictated.

Who dictates oil prices in the market?

Who dictates the costs of basic services (Water, Electricity, etc.)?

Who dictates the prices of basic commodities?

I agree there are factors but I think the government MUST protect the interests of the people and not of those businesses.

So which entity really dictates our policies? Our so-called democratic government with our leaders? Or those influential oligarchs? But most of our leaders belong to the core of those oligarchs that has always “whispered their preferences”, whoever sits on the throne in Malacañang.

Bonifacio must have been smirking in his grave to Rizal while our National Hero must have been fuming mad at how their sacrifices where treated with mockery by the not-so-young generation who has inherited the nation’s struggles both have started. Imagine Bonifacio blaming Rizal even at eternal life and telling him “I Told You So!” when Rizal rejected joining the Katipunan and the arms struggle for Philippine Independence.

A hundred years later, the country still struggles for genuine independence – from the heirs of the oligarchs of the Kastilaloys from Europe who colonized us for more than three centuries, to our modern compatriots who has inherited the same old medieval motto:

If you have the gold… you have power, you have the influence.

If you don’t have those, your struggle may be futile, unless a miraculous act from the heavens above brings the entire nation into sublime change our dead heroes longed for.